National News

Queen of Soul tops Aussies' Facebook chats

Australians have been more interested in sharing their favourite Aretha Franklin song with their Facebook friends than talking about a prime minister being dumped or the royal wedding.

The death of the Queen of Soul is the most-talked about topic on Facebook by its 16 million Australian users for 2018.

The deaths of famous people - Franklin, British physicist Stephen Hawking, Swedish DJ Avicii, US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and The Cranberries' lead singer Dolores O'Riordan - make up half of the top 10.

But Australians also displayed their concern for others, sharing Facebook posts about the strawberry sabotage scare and an amber alert to help find a 12-year-old boy abducted from outside his Gold Coast home.

Facebook's Mia Garlick said the top 10 generally features iconic moments in sport and politics, the deaths of big-name celebrities and examples of communities coming together.

The sharing of news about the strawberry contamination crisis was the second most-talked about topic on Facebook in Australia this year.

"I think a lot of people were trying to drive awareness of the issue and also showing their support for strawberry farmers," said Ms Garlick, Facebook's director of policy for Australia and New Zealand.

The Gold Coast amber alert made it to number eight in the national top 10 as people shared a police appeal for help to find the boy.

Ms Garlick noted the Queensland Police Service has a strong Facebook presence and the Gold Coast is one of the hot spots for the use of the social media platform in Australia.

The federal leadership spill came in at number four on the Facebook list while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding was number seven.